Dre Kirkpatrick

Yesterday was a busy day for the Steelers as several players either were in town or are headed into Pittsburgh. The most notable is Dont’a Hightower, the former Patriots’ linebacker who is scheduled to roll into town this week. Realistically, Hightower is probably out of the Steelers’ monetary range but that doesn’t mean you don’t take the time and see what the player and his agent are thinking. He’s likely to demand over $10 million per season. Considering the Steelers wouldn’t pay that to Dre Kirkpatrick, you’d think this would be a swift “nice meeting you, so long,” but don’t be surprised if the Steelers find a way to do this.

Davon House, cornerback from Jacksonville is visiting as well. He’s primarily a boundary corner who would probably come cheap after starting just four games for the Jags in 2016. He’s over 6′ which is a significant ‘plus’ for him.

The Steelers have also entertained wide receiver Justin Hunter. While he hasn’t had the pro career some thought he would, he could be the type of veteran signing the Steelers make for insurance. “Insurance” you ask? Well, yes. With Martavis Bryant still not re-instated and not giving anyone a ton of confidence, Hunter could be the policy the Steelers are looking for.

Le’Veon Bell underwent surgery on his groin. Yes, that hurt just to type it… He’s expected to be on the shelf for about six weeks and from what I’ve learned this is a rather routine type of procedure.

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You will hear more and more about the issue of ‘painkiller abuse’ in the NFL and why anyone is surprised by this is a bit stunning. We saw this coming with Brett Favre’s struggles and we’ve heard more and more about it in recent years. This could be the opening the ‘medicinal marijuana’ advocates are looking for.

Our very own Chris Garman (SteelByDesign) chimed in yesterday on Ray Fittapaldo’s Live Chat…

SteelByDesign: The Steelers brining Donte Hightower in makes me scratch my head a bit. He’s a good 3 down linebacker, but my guess is he’s going to get somewhere around 8-10 mil per year on average. He’s an upgrade over Vince Williams, but he’s not 8 mil per season better. Your thoughts?

Ray Fittipaldo: Right. It’s tougher to connect the dots on this one because it seems like the plan all along was for Vince Williams to take over for Timmons. The Steelers would be weakening the Patriots if they signed Hightower, but they usually don’t operate that way. They sign a player to a deal in free agency if it’s a good move for them, not to weaken another team.

I’m probably in the minority on this and I really like Vince Williams but I don’t think the intention was for him to ‘take over’ for Timmons. He may be forced to but I honestly don’t think this was the plan.

Have a great day Steeler Nation!

SCB Steelers’ Quick Hitters: The “Man in the Hightower” Edition was last modified: March 14th, 2017 by steeldad

If you’re one of those Steelers’ fans who goes ballistic every time the team doesn’t sign big name free agents then you probably don’t understand what they do. The approach has long been used by the Steelers and for the most part it has been hard to say it hasn’t been successful.

The team has always believed that you build through the draft and use free agents to fill in gaps especially in terms of depth and an occasional starter. With the rival New England Patriots stacking the deck for another Super Bowl run, Steelers’ fans are frustrated. They’ve seen their team re-sign Landry Jones and David Johnson and that’s been it.

With cornerback Ross Cockrell getting the lowest round tender, common sense suggests the Steelers are OK if he returns and OK if he doesn’t. The problem is that the team has been unable to find a free agent corner at the right price. That leaves Cockrell not looking so bad. Of course he’d look better if he were a depth player but right now he’s still looking like the starter.

Rolling the dice would be a good way to describe what General Manager Kevin Colbert and company are doing. They are putting a lot of faith in Senquez Golson, a former second round pick who has all of three career practices under his belt in two years. From everything I’ve been told, Golson is healthy and looks excellent. I’ll root hard for the kid, obviously, but I don’t share Colbert’s optimism.

The team is also rolling the dice with the draft. With so many good cornerbacks to choose from you would think they could possibly come away with a bust but this has happened before right?

Not being able to find a potential starter yet in free agency also means the Steelers will have less time to focus on other positions. The thought process was to be able to sign a Dre Kirkpatrick or even a Marcus Cooper but the price has been too high. While I respect the Steelers’ process of not over-paying, you have to wonder if this isn’t the year they should have spent some cash.

The AFC North will be weaker than it has been in quite some time and once again the Steelers will likely have to stare down the Patriots if they want to get to the Super Bowl.

The Steelers put a lot of faith in their coaching and player development but when you’re franchise quarterback is nearing the end perhaps they should have changed the way they do things. Only time will tell.

Time Will Tell If The Steelers Have Failed Free Agency was last modified: March 12th, 2017 by steeldad

The “legal tampering” period ends today at 4pm which means all unrestricted free agents can start signing deals with new or in a few rare cases, their original teams. As I say every time this time of year, do not expect the Steelers to be major players. There will be phone calls made just to gauge interest from players who will demand way too much. But that’s due diligence and sometimes you find a guy who is willing to play for a little less money for the opportunity at a championship. I expect the Steelers to be slightly more active than in recent years due to some extra cap space but outside of that, it’ll be status quo. Either way, the free agent frenzy begins today.

I’m told the Steelers and Dre Kirkpatrick are closer to a deal than many would have expected. That doesn’t mean it will happen but it at least sounds like he’s interested in being here. If the Steelers go past $7 million per season (and frankly that’s too high in my opinion) then they are nuts.

Keep an eye this week on not who the Steelers sign but perhaps who they may let go. I’ve been hearing some things let say that.

We does the media spend so much time talking about Tony Romo? As a person, I like Romo. He’s a good, down-to-earth guy but he’s won two career playoff games and he’s one decent hit from seeing his career end. Must be because he’s a Cowboy.

Tweet of the Day… DWill winning parenting.

My kid just projectile vomited all over our table I wiped it up and kept on eating and table next to us was in shock!! #heyimhungry

Looking at what quarterbacks are getting right now has me seriously wondering if Landry Jones won’t be too expensive to keep. Matt Schaub is getting $9 million over two years… Ugh.

Lawrence Timmons is in Miami to visit with the Dolphins. I would not be surprised if he signed there. He’s from Florida and they will likely give him more money. I have to believe Miami knows he’s not a three-down backer anymore but they might want his leadership and experience. I’m guessing if he signs it will be in the $6 mill per season area.

For those that thought Pierre Garcon would be a good fit…. He will make $16 million in his first year in San Francisco. Shall I go on?

With the legal tampering period now in full swing some teams have already started to make moves. New England has given a first round tender to Malcolm Butler and is unlikely to re-sign LeGarrette Blount… The Chargers released cornerback Brandon Flowers and offensive tackle D.J. Fluker… Adrian Peterson claims to prefer Seattle or Oakland as his next destination. Of course a day ago he was interested in the Patriots… The Browns are reportedly willing to trade their 12th overall pick to New England for Jimmy Garoppolo… The Chiefs have said they aren’t interested in Tony Romo… The Pats and Cowboys are interested in Desean Jackson. In other words, the madness is underway.

Le’Veon Bell stated recently that had he been healthy for the AFC Title Game the outcome would have been different. I’d like to believe that but unless Bell was coming in on defense I just don’t believe it would have made that much of a difference. Not on that day anyway.

Here’s a list of Steelers who are set to hit the open market in free agency tomorrow. Lawrence Timmons, Landry Jones, DeAngelo Williams, Jarvis Jones, Ricardo Mathews, Shamarko Thomas, David Johnson and Cody Wallace.

Perhaps you’ve seen where Colin Kaepernick has announced he’ll be standing once again during the playing of the National Anthem. Sorry to be a bit of a pessimist here but if he weren’t looking for work I have to wonder if this would actually be the case.

In completely unsurprising news, the Steelers are not interested in Darrelle Revis who reportedly wants around $8 million per year AND the Bengals have reportedly met with Joe Mixon. He’s the very talented running back from Oklahoma who broke a woman’s jaw with a right cross in 2014.

Please, I’m begging you sane Steelers’ fans out there, calm the crazy ones down. Ya know? The ones who think we are going to sign every big name free agent on the market this week. In the words of Regina George, it’s not going to happen.

The Steelers and Dre Kirkpatrick’s agent are talking. Whether or not they can get to a number that suits the Steelers is doubtful in my opinion. Keep an eye on recently released Brandon Flowers who was let go by the Chargers yesterday.

Have a wonderful Wednesday Steeler Nation!

SCB Steelers’ Quick Hitters: The “Madness is Beginning” Edition was last modified: March 8th, 2017 by steeldad